Buffer zones out, so activists move in

Anti-abortion protesters eye other states’ laws after top court ruling in Mass. case

BOSTON — The two women climb out of the car in front of Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth Avenue, and Eleanor McCullen reaches them in two quick steps. She tries to hand them a white rose and a pamphlet about alternatives to abortion, and beseeches them to let her help.

“I can help with housing, medical — we work with St. Elizabeth’s, just down the road, and everything is free,” she says, walking with the women as they approach the door.

Just a week ago, McCullen could not have gotten this close to the women in the state of Massachusetts because of a law passed in 2007 that required protest- ers stay behind a 35-foot buffer zone around entrances to abortion clinics.

But the Supreme Court struck down that law June 26, ruling unanimously that the buffer zone violated protesters’ First Amendment rights to free speech.

McCullen, a cheery 77year-old grandmother, was the lead plaintiff.

Though the decision applied only to the Massachusetts law, advocates on both sides of the debate say it eventually could apply to a variety of ordinances around the country.

New Hampshire last month approved a 25-foot buffer zone around its clinics, and cities, including San Francisco and Portland, Maine, also have fixed-distance buffer zone laws in place.

Many other municipalities require protesters to stay 8 feet away from patients who are within 100 feet of a clinic. Those laws also could be the next targeted by the anti-abortion movement after last week’s decision.

“These ‘bubble’ zones are susceptible to the reasoning in (the Massachusetts case), but I think it will take litigation to take them down,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League.

Patients and staff at the Boston clinic say they have noticed a big difference since the buffer zone law was struck down.

On Wednesday, protesters walked with impunity over the yellow line that had been painted on the sidewalk after the 2007 law was passed.

The protesters largely ignored the volunteer escorts in vests helping women into the center and the three police officers standing nearby, who ignored them in return.

The Boston clinic has had fewer patients than normal since the Supreme Court decision came out and more skipped appointments, said Martha Walz, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts. “We now have protesters in larger numbers and much closer to our doorway, harassing our patients as they approach the health center,” Walz said.

On Wednesday, Massachusetts state officials said they were working on new measures to protect patients in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.

Potential solutions include updating the state’s dispersal law, which allows police officers to order protesters to disperse if they are blocking access to a facility, and creating a state version of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The federal law prohibits the use of physical force or intimidation against people trying to enter a reproductive health clinic.

“While ... there is no one single law that can offer the same kind of comprehensive protection that the buffer zone did, we believe we can enhance a number of laws that, when combined together, can help provide safe access to these facilities,” Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said at a news conference Wednesday.

Gov. Deval Patrick said he hoped to have “a fix” to the law on his desk by July 31.

Rebecca Leung, a 19-year old Northeastern University student, was approached by protesters as she went into the Boston clinic Wednesday for an appointment unrelated to abortion.

She said she thought there should be a buffer zone, because the protesters made her feel uncomfortable.

“Everyone has the freedom to make their own choices,” she said. “When you walk in and feel harassed, it’s not a good feeling.”

But even if Massachusetts does change its laws, McCullen isn’t likely to give up standing outside the Boston clinic. She said she’s helped prevent many women from having abortions — perhaps 20 a year.

“We’re not out to start trouble,” McCullen said. “All we’re trying to do is let women know that there’s another option.”